Sums in E Cape schools do not add up

The Eastern Cape education department seemingly bungled the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) to schools after giving the legislature a list that was riddled with inaccuracies.

The blunders come amid calls for the government to act against those implicated in the PPE procurement scandal.

One of the most glaring errors in the provincial education department’s list was stating Beezee Bee Events had been awarded a R5.6m contract for the supply of PPE to 52 schools in the OR Tambo inland district. This was not the case.

The list also erroneously mentioned that Yolo Empire had been awarded a R5.8m contract to supply PPE to 60 schools in the Sarah Baartman district. It was given a contract of only R2.9m for 30 schools.

The list was e-mailed to the provincial legislature’s committee on education on August 19 and tabled the next day.

The two discrepancies were discovered by the Sunday Times, who called some of the companies awarded contracts.

Beezee Bee Events was omitted from the Treasury’s list, made public last week. The contract for Yolo Empire in the Treasury’s list was reflected as R2.9m, not R5.8m.

Nonkululeko Maswazi, director of Beezee Bee Events, said she applied but received no award. “The purpose of me bidding was to be awarded. I want that money.”

Lulama Jakavula, director of Yolo Empire, said that she felt “hard done by” in not being awarded the R5.8m contract.

“I want to know what happened to the other 30 schools that I was supposedly given. Were they allocated to someone else?

“According to the document, I was allocated R5.8m when I was actually awarded R2.9m.

“The whole PPE procurement is the news of the day, so I would not want to be seen as benefiting from R5.8m when I did not.”

Besides events and entertainment companies, a music production house and estate agents are also among those who scored lucrative contracts for the supply of PPE to schools.

The nine provincial education departments spent R1.7bn on PPE. The biggest expenditures were in the Eastern Cape (R545.4m) and KwaZulu-Natal (R487.4m).

Despite raking in almost R2.2m for distributing PPE to 26 schools in Alfred Nzo west district, Stens Women’s Business Services allegedly supplied poor quality sanitisers.

Education superintendentgeneral Themba Kojana told the provincial legislature that Stens was being investigated by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU). This follows revelations that the alcohol-based content in sanitisers supplied to Makaula Senior Secondary School in KwaBhaca was 57.6% instead of the minimum 70%.

In June 204 pupils and hostel assistants at the school tested positive for Covid-19.

DA MPL Yusuf Cassim slammed the department for getting principals to monitor the quality of PPE delivered to schools, saying they did not have the necessary expertise.

Provincial education spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima said Beezee Bee Events had been told on a Saturday afternoon it was being considered as a supplier.

“We informed them that a formal communication will be given to them on the Monday,” said Mtima.

“But on the same Saturday night we then told them not to order PPE.”

He said this was because the original supplier had come back to indicate that PPE was being delivered to schools.

“We are trying to establish the legitimacy of the list that was submitted to the portfolio committee.”